Sustainability at Pringle

Pringle of Scotland have been proudly producing the finest quality knitwear since 1815. We have always designed and produced garments that will last with care and attention. We use only the finest fibres in our yarns, and these are knitted to the highest standards to produce a garment of unique quality.

We are not perfect, but we are always looking for ways to do better, as we continue to make the timeless and beloved clothes and accessories that Pringle is known for. We launched our sustainability project in 2023 with these main objectives:

Objectives

Improve sustainability, our environmental impact and transparency across the business and our supply chain

Manage our business operations to prevent pollution.

Ensure that we source manufacturing and raw materials ethically and sustainably.

Ensure that Pringle and its supply chain adheres to the highest welfare and health and safety standards.

Ensure the highest standards of animal welfare and yarn traceability.

Minimise waste in our business and supply chain.

Improve circularity within our business.

Current Achievements

We plan to continue our journey towards greater sustainability and becoming more transparent by launching this new sustainability hub on our website to explain our policies and document future goals and improvements.

We have also published our Environmental Policy covering the broader scope of our business. This will be reviewed annually.

We work closely with our suppliers and partners to promote fair labour practises and safe working conditions and require that they agree to our supplier code of conduct and Unapproved sub-contracting policy. We also include additional policies on Cotton Sourcing, Animal Derived Materials, Restricted Substances List and Modern Slavery.

We visit and review our suppliers every two years to ensure that they meet the highest staff, welfare, safety and ethical standards and adhere to our published policies. We also rely on industry audits like SMETA, but we do not publish this commercially sensitive information on our website.

We have banned harmful chemicals from our supply chain and published our Chemical Policy in 2024. We have always avoided using harmful dyes but formalised this with a written policy this year.

We have always sold excess stocks through our outlet stores and on the website. We have also donated stock to charity events and stores allowing them to be sold to raise funds. We do not send garments to landfill.

Excess yarns are kept to a minimum, reconditioned where required, and knitted into small soft accessories like hats, gloves and scarves. Further details can be found on our Circularity Page.

Samples are sold through our regular sample sales and through our outlet stores. We also designed and produced a collection where we repurposed garments and samples into one-off pieces.

Sustainable and recyclable packaging is used on all ecommerce orders. Our boxes are from FSC accredited suppliers with a 75% recycled content, and craft tape is used to seal the boxes. We also wrap our products in tissue paper that is fully recyclable. We will ensure that any future plastic bags used in the business are made from recycled plastic and are recyclable at home.

We use DPD for our UK deliveries and returns, and in 2024 they certified that
38.57% of our parcels sent through them were delivered to customers on all
electric vehicles saving 209Kg of CO2. DPD continues to invest in its
all-electric delivery fleet which is now over 32% of our final mile delivery
fleet. We publish our certificates on Pringle of Scotland DPD Electric Vehicle
Certificates blog. Further details can be found at https://green.dpd.co.uk

We implemented DHL GoGreen Plus on all our international Air shipment through DHL Express in May 2024.This service
utilises sustainable aviation fuel to reduces carbon emissions by 70-80% when compared to regular aviation fuel and reduces particulates by 90% and sulphur by 100%. We have committed to using 50% sustainable aviation fuel on all ecommerce customer deliveries sent by DHL Express, and will publish annual statements showing our actual usage.This is detailed in our Reducing carbon emissions on our customer deliveries blog. 2024 emission savings will be published when then have been certified and the certificates are available.


We published our Logistics and Travel Policy to reinforce our commitment to reducing our carbon emissions on deliveries and travel within our business.


We introduced circularity training for our designers, and a designer induction program for new recruits. It is important that sustainability and circularity is designed into our products.

We have removed man-made fibres from our lambswool blends to ensure that the garments are now compostable at the end of their life with the removal of any trims and labels.

Objectives 2025

We review all manufacturers every 2 years . We use industry audits like SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) and BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) in addition to these visits to ensure the highest welfare, safety and ethical standards are maintained in our supply chain.


We are replacing our existing plastic packaging with bags that are made of recycled plastics and are recyclable at home. This will ensure that all packaging is made from recycled materials and is full recyclable. This started in 2024 with the introduction of new reusable and recyclable zip lock bags in place of the existing garment bags.


We will implement greener and more sustainable care labels in garments in 2025/6. We are introducing recycled polyester satin certified Global Recycled Standard (GRS).


We are working to eliminate single use plastic bags from our development, sampling and manufacturing process.


We also commit to review our policies and objectives on a regular basis.


March 2025